Page 37 - br-may-2022

Mayl 2022 May 2022

BERE REGIS WILDLIFE AND
ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Spring is exploding!! Or, at least that’s how it feels.
After a slow start trees have now taken on a flush of
green growth, plants are growing and flowering and
bird calls are louder than ever as they frantically go
about finding a mate and nest building.

Pony Grazing on Souls Moor

One of the local signs of Spring is the return of ponies to Souls Moor. That should
be happening sometime this month. So, do look out for them and say “hello”.
However, they are not pets, please do not feed them or approach them and
keep dogs on a lead. They are there to continue their good nature conservation
work. The benefits of their grazing over the past five years are apparent, with a
reduction in the longer rank vegetation and the appearance of a range of more
interesting and varied plants and wildflowers. These include the bright yellow
marsh marigolds, along with pink campion, meadow buttercup, orchids, sorrel,
ragged robin, comfrey and lady’s smock / the cuckoo flower.

Yellowhammers

No, not something you can buy at B&Q,
but a bird you may spot locally. The
sparrow sized yellowhammer is one of
our more distinctive birds with its bright
yellow head and yellow underparts.

It is most easily seen when sitting atop a
small tree or hedgerow. There have
been many sightings on Black Hill. More
recently, they have been seen locally
on hedgerows around arable fields, eg
along Roke Road.

Their song sounds as though they are
asking for ‘a little bit of bread and no
cheese’! Yellowhammer numbers have declined over the years and are no a
‘red-listed’ species, meaning it is of the highest conservation priority with the
species needing urgent action

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